00:00
Now, when it comes to diagnosis of MS,
I'm going to talk about four main areas.
00:05
When it comes to blood test,
we really don't have as good of ideas
we'd like to right now,
but it's coming.
00:12
We do do some blood tests
that will help rule out other diseases
with symptoms that are similar to MS,
but that's about the best
we have right now.
00:20
Hopefully, soon,
we'll have some specific test
that will go for specific biomarkers
that are associated with MS,
but they're not quite ready
for prime time yet.
00:30
So, we have blood tests
that will predominantly rule out
other disorders that are similar to MS.
00:36
We can do a spinal tap
or a lumbar puncture.
00:39
And this can show us
abnormalities and antibodies
that are associated with MS.
00:43
So, it can also help us rule out
if the patient is having
some kind of infection
or other condition.
00:49
Hey, you're picking up a theme here?
Look, there's really not a blood test
that says, "You have MS."
It just says you don't have
these other things
that we think could look like MS.
00:59
When we talk about a spinal tap,
they can show us some abnormalities
and antibodies,
but it can also help us say, "Oh, yeah.
Your symptoms aren't caused by this."
So, we can rule out infections
or other conditions.
01:11
So, the first two tests
look at body fluids, right?
We're looking at blood tests
and then we're looking at a spinal taps,
we're looking at cerebral spinal fluid.
01:19
The next two tests are ones
that we perform on the patient.
01:23
So, an MRI can reveal
areas of MS lesions
on brain or the spinal cord.
01:29
Now, if we inject in their IV
a contrast material,
it really highlight those lesions,
and we can look at the disease,
especially if they're in an active phase.
01:39
So, the first two tests,
we're looking at body fluids.
01:42
These two tests are things
that we will roll the patient into
to do the test.
01:47
So, MRI can show us lesions,
particularly if we use contrast dye
in an active phase of the disease.
01:53
Now, the last one is just fun to say.
01:55
Evoke to potential tests.
01:57
It just sounds very regal.
01:58
It is pretty cool, though,
because they can record
electrical signals produced
by the nervous system
in response to stimuli.
02:05
So, these electrodes will measure
how quickly the information
travels down your nerve pathways.
02:10
Okay, cool, but stop and think
for just a minute.
02:15
Why in the diagnosis of MS
am I looking at how quickly
information travels down
your nerve pathways?
Because MS scars
the myelin sheath in the CNS,
that means that it interrupts
those transmissions.
02:30
That makes sense then.
02:32
That's why the MRI
and the evoked potential tests
are really helpful.
02:36
Now, see if you can stop and remember,
what's the name
of the two body fluid tests
that we can also do to help us
rule out other things than MS?
Cool.
02:47
Blood and a lumbar puncture.
02:50
Good work.
02:51
Every time you stop, pause,
and recall with us,
you're really helping your brain
grasps these concepts at a deeper level.